Inner Nature
by UntoldStories113
Summary: It wasn't always easy being part of Riley. Neither was being there for her. (Written pre-movie. Each chapter features a different Emotion.)
1. Sadness

**Note:** After the Brain Freeze trailer, I feel that I now have enough info about the Emotions' personalities to attempt to get inside their heads. …pun not intended. There'll be a chapter for each of the five Emotions, posted at irregular intervals.

This is obviously written _before_ the movie comes out (and loosely set before it takes place, I guess), so take it with a grain of salt. But I, for one, look forward to looking back and seeing how accurate my portrayal was.

* * *

Sometimes, she was glad that Joy was around.

Not glad as in happy, but glad as in... well, not depressed, which was the closest Sadness ever came to glad. But she didn't know what else to call it, because if Joy _wasn't_ around, that would have deprived Riley of many of the things she treasured. She could not have enjoyed her matches, or particularly tasty foods, or what Joy liked to call "quality time" with her friends and family. If Joy wasn't around, Riley would never be happy.

Of course, Sadness wasn't really sure what happy _felt_ like, but she could sense that it was something good, at least, something which was important to Riley. Something Riley _wanted_ to be.

It broke her heart to know that there were feelings Riley had that she would never understand, but she had long since learned to accept it as a fact of life. And she felt bad for always dragging Riley down, so it was rare for her to take the lead in the girl's state of mind. But sometimes, she knew she was needed, and she never hesitated to act on that realization. Because sometimes, Riley was truly desolate, and in those times, it was Sadness who was her best friend.

When something bad came up, the others never knew how to act. But Sadness knew, because she understood. Riley's mom sometimes said that crying together could make the bad things go away, and it was a truth Sadness felt resonating inside her, except that it wasn't always about solving the problems. Sometimes, in the darkest moments, it was just about indulging in them.

It was hard being the only one who could empathize, but she didn't blame the others; it simply wasn't in their natures. So she did the best she could for the girl, even if that just meant being with her. And even though those were the only moments in which Sadness felt truly alive, she always willed them to be temporary.

It wasn't much. But it was theirs. And maybe that was enough.

* * *

**Note:** Keep an eye out for the other chapters. I have them all figured out; just need to polish them.

If you enjoyed this, please give a shout; would be nice to meet other Inside Out fans-to-be!

Next up: Anger!


	2. Anger

Sometimes, the fire got painful.

It was the only way Anger knew how to make himself heard, but when the top of his head burst into flames, he couldn't think straight. He didn't _want_ to think straight at those times, and that irked him, because it never failed to get Riley into trouble.

And as much as he pushed the others away when he got going, in retrospect, he always did welcome their interventions. Not that he ever told them that, of course, or he would have to suffer their irritating self-righteousness each time. Disgust especially was way too smug for her own good.

But he didn't believe in bottling things up, either. Sometimes, Riley actively refused to acknowledge him, and whenever she did, it made her later outbursts all the more magnificent. So he was convinced it was best to just let it all out, and that was exactly why he never tried to hold himself back.

At times, he resented being the only one she didn't seem to want, but it also grounded him, for no matter the lengths to which she could go in order to ignore him, he knew she always came back to rely on him in the end.

Mostly, that was when people didn't let her be herself. Those were the moments in which she snapped. Her parents in particular were infuriating. To be honest, he didn't really understand how she managed to deal with them when he was _not_ the one in charge. They kept trying to form her into something she was not, and it caused a fierce protectiveness to stir inside him whenever it happened, one he didn't quite understand, but which he welcomed all the same.

It wasn't always what she wanted, but he would protect her. Because someone had to.

* * *

**Note:** These are great writing exercises. Maintaining a general emotional tone despite having a _bunch_ of differing feelings flowing into each other is surprisingly hard.

Next up: Disgust!


	3. Disgust

**Note:** Thanks to the anonymous reviewers, too! :) Since I can't send you personalized reply PMs, I thought I could say it here. You guys rock!

* * *

Sometimes, she just wanted to be alone.

Yeah, Joy's we're-all-chummy-here thing was kinda charming every now and then, but it really got old after a while. Especially when it didn't work, which was always, really. More often than not, their resident Bouncy Ball was the only one who truly enjoyed the togetherness, and at times, Disgust found it hard to handle her radiating positivity; it really got on her nerves.

So she would hide out among the rows and rows of shelves full of memories, trying to find one to watch, and then be unable to decide on one because neither one of them was truly perfect; there was _always_ something to make her turn away in distaste.

There _were_ upsides to life in Headquarters, though, even if she had to look for them with a magnifying glass. Making Riley snark at her parents, for example. That was fun. Yeah, Riley always felt bad about it afterward, and maybe Disgust felt a little bad about it, too. Maybe. Just maybe. Seldom. If she didn't have anything better to do. But that was _after_ the wisecracks. During them, she enjoyed herself, and she knew, she just _knew_, that Riley enjoyed the sarcasm, too.

Startling Fear was another upside to her everyday life. The guy was so jumpy that it was funny, even when he emitted those stupid, shrill shrieks. But she couldn't do it often, for she loathed being lectured by Joy about "proper behavior" and "respecting your peers."

There had to be something to that, Disgust knew, at least when she felt like being honest with herself. Because Riley sometimes received the same lectures from her parents, but rarely, only when she got into fights with others kids. That didn't happen often, though, only when Anger was in charge. Shame, really, but it probably couldn't be helped.

No, scratch that. It was exhausting to always go where Riley took them. The girl was a good kid, mostly, Disgust would give her that, but she really didn't know how to deal with people, and that led to cringe-inducing awkwardness and embarrassing misunderstandings more often than not.

Why she even still _bothered_ was beyond Disgust. If _she_ had had to deal with about a decade of this, she would have opted out by now, would have left to live on her own. Or something like that.

But, oh well. It was not as if she could go anywhere, and if she had to stick around anyway, she might as well make the most of each moment.

* * *

**Note:** I think it says a lot about me that the chapter with the sarcasm prone character is the longest by far…

Anyone else get a definite Toy Story vibe whenever the Emotions' feelings toward Riley are mentioned?

Next up: Fear!


	4. Fear

Sometimes, he wished Riley wasn't such a curious child.

Because if she wasn't, that would mean Fear wouldn't have to deal with so many surprises and shocks. If she wasn't, she could just do her homework all day and then lie down on the couch to read a soothing picture book, or maybe a cooking recipe.

That wouldn't be fun, true, but it wouldn't be seizure inducing, either. And it would probably prolong her life.

But with the curiosity also came the thrill, and the excitement about the new. He didn't always like it, but he _felt_ it, all right. It was the same as the apprehension, only nicer, and he knew Riley enjoyed it. She _had_ to enjoy it, or she wouldn't _be_ the way she was.

He had tried to explain this to Joy whenever she was frustrated enough to complain that the rest of them couldn't be positive. Hey, he could be positive! It wasn't his fault if she couldn't understand that! But he never tried for long; he tended to take care not to talk to her too much at once, for her boisterous loudness always managed to catch him off guard eventually.

Actually, he sometimes avoided the others altogether, save Sadness, for while she was as prone to sudden outbursts as any of the Emotions, her crying fits were a little more predictable, which also meant more manageable, and thus, being with her was somewhat relaxing. But Disgust seemed to get a kick out of irritating him, and Anger mostly irritated _everyone_ without even trying.

It wasn't always easy to count himself as part of this lineup, especially when they conflicted. But they all had their place in Riley's head, and if any one of them was missing, she wouldn't be complete, no matter if their contributions were positive or negative.

If anyone understood that, it was him.

* * *

**Note:** To be concluded. You know who's missing. ;)


	5. Joy

**Note:** An Inside Out writer's best friend? A _thesaurus_! It's usually not the way to go at all, but if you find yourself writing "Disgust made a show of her disgust," you know you need one.

Also, did anyone notice that the chapters ended up sorted by order of positivity? I swear, that was a complete accident. ;)

* * *

Sometimes, it was difficult to keep up the morale.

She knew she was the one who needed to do it, because she was the only one who _could_, hard though it was. Sadness was a lost cause most of the time, anyway - even though that never stopped Joy from trying, of course - but even Disgust occasionally made such a show of her revulsion that trying to calm down Fear seemed relaxing in comparison.

And Anger, oh boy… Anything could set him off, and when it did and his head sort of exploded again, the flame drew in the others as if they were a bunch of moths, and they would stare into the glow, sort of petrified, and the heat would addle their minds and undermine their resistance to the negativity, and afterward, it was always the hardest to pick up the pieces.

But with a little positive reinterpretation – sudden flames made for excellent spontaneous marshmallow campfire opportunities – even those occasions could be turned into fun and togetherness. She just had to find out how.

Yes, even she was down sometimes, particularly when she went overboard in excitement and Riley had to suffer the consequences for it – when she refused to go to bed when ordered, for example. It always made Joy question herself, made her try to figure out where she went wrong and why being positive wasn't always positive. And then she would sort of lose her nerve and the others would take over, openly questioning how she managed to always feel so "hyper."

But even that was okay, because whenever it happened, Joy consciously remembered the one irrefutably positive thing they could _all_ feel.

Love. It wasn't just that Riley's love for her parents and friends resonated in them all. It was more. They all loved Riley, and Riley loved them, embraced them, even if sometimes they did make her feel down. But they were _hers_, and even in those moments when she tried to resist them, she always _accepted_ them, was never afraid to let them guide her interactions with people. She wasn't always able to handle them, but she was always aware of them at the very least.

Her Emotions just _were_. It was she who had to decide whether she wanted them to be that way or not.

And the other Emotions knew that, too. They might sometimes complain about Riley or her surroundings, yes, but being treasured like that registered with all of them even in the darkest moments.

It was what gave Joy hope. It empowered her to face each new day. It made her happy to be part of this family.

* * *

**Note:** And that's it! Hope you enjoyed the ride, and that we will all have a blast watching the movie.


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